Traffic signal



Oct. 17, 1933. e. w. WITHERS 1,931,174

TRAFFIC SIGNAL Filed Aug. 24,1932

FFL. m 44'- llllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllll! 2a r/z/fi F193. F/g4 7 mvuvrox. A I M arm Nk Y H ZJCZM /a V4 9 K ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT. O F 1 Patented Oct. 17,- 1933 a 1 1,931,174 M e TRAFFIC SIGNAL 7 .Gilbert w. with;manage I Application August 24,1932. Serial N .=;630;265

r 7 Claims. (01. 40'125 This invention relates to trafiic control, and more particularlyto a new and improved trafiic signal or markerfor use on streetsv and highways.

Crowded living conditions, particularlyin centers of population, coupled with a motor age, have made necessary intricate systems of trafiic control. A considerable factor in connection with such systems is the trafiic marker, which usually consists of a plate or other indicating device anchored in the pavement or slab' and bearing some such injunction as Stop, Slow, Quiet, School Zone, etc. Since to be effective these devices must appear more-or less directly in the line of traffic, they should be constructed as to give maximum visibility and yet at the same time provide minimum interference in the passage of vehicles thereover. A-popular form of traffic marker is the solid rubber plate anchored at right angles to the slab and over which trafiic may pass with little inconvenience. An objection tothis type of marker lies in the fact that the punishment it must take from trafiic soon wears it out, and it must then bereplaced in toto, even though only one part has been damaged and the remainder of the plate is ingood condition. Such replacement is both costly andiwasteful. Further, since the entire length of the device is exposed to oncoming traflic, and since contact with any part of said surface will rock or flatten the entire plate against the pavement, more wear than is necessary ,occursbcttuse of. this. Such contact causes at least some inconvenience to passengers in vehicles since the body of the marker must impart some jar to an impacting automobile or.- thelike, and, in addition the marker furnishes a mental hazard to a driver, particularly a stranger, who, not knowing what the device is backed up by, and possibly having had some experiences in hitting those of a solid.

type, may swerve into an adjoining lane of traffic in order to avoid hitting the marker, such action often resulting in serious accidents.

fAnobject of this invention is to 'provide a traflic marker thatmay be quickly and easily replaced as to any of its working parts without the necessity of installing an entire new device. Another object is to provide a marker which will give greater visibilty than the type now gen erally in use.

A still further object is to provide a marker,

one part of which may be run over and flattened without any of the other parts being affected.-

Another object is to provide a marker so con-f structed that a driver may easily avoid hitting it without swerving out of his line of traffic.

Summarized,'the objects of this invention are to provide a marker that will be economical in construction and operation, efficient in itsworkwhich it is intended.

ing, and highly v effective for the purposes for In order that my invention derstood, reference is made to the drawing here.- in, in which: i" s s .Fig. 1 is afront elevational viewof the device.

Fig. 2 is a.

in the direction of the arrows.

y. be fu y", 1

s ,top plan view of themar ker il1ustrated in Fig. 1.

Referring to the construction in'furtherdeL- tail, 10 designates the anchor'plate o'rbase member of my device, which member may be cast or otherwise suitably formed, Y and is preferably made of metal. It is intended that 10 shall be sunkflush to its top in the concrete", asphalt,'or

brick surface 'of the pavement, and in order to insure a particularly solid anchorage, the base may be formed with angles 11 at stated intervals, said angles being carried to the top'on the back of saidbase to form brackets 12, the function of whichis made'clear elsewhere herein. "I'he front 'of 10 is formed witha continuous over-hanging ledge 13, terminating in a flat base portion 14 (Fig. 5). A plurality'of securing strips 1 5 are anchored on the rearlof 10 by means of counter-sunk bolts 16 and washers 17, the base of 10 being drilled and threaded as at '18 to receive saidbolts. The inner-bottom edge of. 15 is beveled as at 19, this structure cooperating with complementary formation 13 of the base to form a continuous open-topped tri angular groove. The upper edge of 15 next said groove may be slightly rounded as at 15 a in order to preclude damage to the letters of the device by what might otherwise be a cutting edge at this point. 7 Special attention is now called to letters 20 of the marker. These letters are formed of rub ber or rubber-fabric material, and the body thereof is preferably red in colorand inlaid on a white background. The fabric construction insures upright position, and inlaying the letters guafant's'that thywill not wear oif in the course of operation.- ,A further reinforcing member in the shape of a metal 1'' strip inserted in or near the bottom of thefletter during, the

meral 21' on the drawing. "I'hebase 22"of letter- 20-is wedge'shapedyand made to conform to the. triangular groove in'base 10 previously described herein; it having been .found desirable .to constructthis base slightly larger than the groove proper, such formation, in ,view of the{ elasticrubber composition of the letter, insuring a tightfitting joint when the member is in place. The 7 base 22 forms the foundation of the letter, the upper part of which may be fabricated so as to taper slightly towards its top, and the corners 23 thereof may be fashioned with dog ears so as to prevent said corners from becoming ragged or unsightly in the course of time.

Between the letters in the base groove is a seriesof metal fillers or spacers 24, which mem bers may be of cast metal and are. shaped to conform exactly with the triangular groovereferred to herein, the tops of said members terminating exactly with the top of base 10 and securing strips 15.

. .In operation,-my device works as follows: Base 10 having been securely anchored in the pavement in aamanner heretofore set out herein,

vided .by the tops12 of bracketsll contactingand guiding said strips. In this manner the letters are firmly and securely held in place in exact spaced relationship.

It is to .be noted that by removing one or more of the fillers, five, six, or seven letter words may be spelled on the same base, and exact spacing at the same time maintained, which factor of flexibility is. of considerable convenience when changes are to be made. The desirability of a standard base which may bepurchased in quantity lots and used for all-markers of a municipal traffic system, is obvious.

When it becomes necessary to remove one of the letters because of its having become worn out or damaged, it is only necessary to remove one of strips 15 by loosening bolts 16, take out the old letter, substitute a new one in its place, and quickly restore the structure to its initial condition. This maybe done at a small cost, both from the' stand-point of material required and the time of the maintenance man who does the work. Tests have shown this operation may be.performed,fwith the aid of a speed wrench. is less than one minute; while new letters may be procured for a relatively few centsas compared with the very considerable cost of replac-.

ing the entire indicating plate of the conventional marker. p

I deem it desirable to make my base membe possibly twice as long as that of the usual traflic' marker, which construction gives the letters of the devices. considerable spread, with'attendant greater visibility to approaching trafiic. When oneof the letters is hit by the wheel of a vehicle, that letter alone is affected thereby, which fact is important both from a stand-point of wear on the device itself, andjar to the impacting mem-. ber, it being apparent that the latter will be much less in the case of a single letter than when the entire device is upset, as happens with an ordinary marker. Further, a driver bymerely turning the steering wheel a few inches may avoid the letter entirely and this without throwing his machine out of its trafiic lane, whichact is impossible in the case of a solid marker occupying a much greater continuous space. Thus it appears that the total wear on my. device will be much lessthan upon the conventional type under the same traffic conditions, which fact isfurther significantboth'from a stand-point of maintenance and of yearly .cost. r v x described a new and useful trafiic signal which is eificient in operation, economical in construction, and thoroughly adapted to modern trafiic adapt the same for use'under various conditions without eliminating certain features which .may be said to constitute the essential items of novelty herein which items are intended to be defined and secured to me by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A traffic signal comprising a base, a beveled securing strip co-operating with said base, a portion of said base being so shaped as to form, with said strip, an open-topped triangular groove between thestrip and base, flexible letters extending into said groove, and fillers between said letters in said groove.

2. A trafiic marker comprising a metal base,

anchoring brackets along the'side'of said base,

base, said strips. and base having portions so shaped as to co-operate to form an open-topped triangular groove, flexible letters having wedgeshaped bases extending into and filling said groove, and filler members in'said groovebetwe'en said letters.

4. A traffic signal comprising a base, a beveled securing strip co-operating with said base, a portion of said base being so shaped as to form with said strip an open-topped triangular groove, flexible letters associated with andfilling said groove, filler members having wedge shaped bases extending into said groove, and means to unite the securing strip and the said base.

5. A trafiic signal comprising a base, a securing strip co-operating with said base, a'portion of said base being so. shaped as to form with said strip an open-topped'triangular groove between the strip and the base, rubber-fabric letters extending into said groove, filler members having of the base and securing strip, extending into Without further ex",

said groove and entirely filling the space in the groove not occupied by the said letters.

6. A trafiic signal comprising a base, a securing strip co-operating with said base, a portion of said base being so shaped as to form with said strip a groove between the strip and the base, said groove being wider at its bottomthan at its top,

and flexible letters extending into said'groove, 1

said letters being reinforced at their base with T-shaped metal strip. 1

strip co-operating with said base, a portion-of said base being so shaped as to form with said strip a groove between the strip and the base,

p 7. A traflic signal comprising a base, a securing 

